Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Jean Shaheen (D-NH) will reintroduce the International Violence Against Women Act today, with the hopes that Congress will pass the bill during this session.

"The recent kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian school girls underscores the horrific violence that too many women and girls across the globe face every day," Senator Boxer said in a statement. "The International Violence Against Women Act will make clear that ending discrimination and violence against women and girls is a top priority for the United States and central to our national security interests."

Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and President of Women Thrive Worldwide, echoed Boxer's comments on the subject. "It took roughly three weeks for the U.S. to announce some concrete action to help bring back the more than 270 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by terrorist militants," she said in a statement. "The International Violence Against Women Act would compel a more immediate and effective response."